This all-sky mosaic was constructed from 912 TESS images. By late October 2022, when the last image of this mosaic was captured, TESS had discovered 266 exoplanets and 4,258 candidates. The north and south ecliptic poles – the ends of imaginary lines extending above and below the center of Earth's orbit around the Sun – lie at the top and bottom of the image. The Andromeda galaxy is the small, bright oval near the upper right edge. The Lage Magellanic Cloud can be seen along the bottom edge just left of center. Above and to the left of it shine the Small Magellanic Cloud and the bright star cluster 47 Tucanae. Molleweide projection. Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park) ||

This illustration sketches out the main features of TOI 451, a triple-planet system located 400 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center || Using observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a trio of hot worlds larger than Earth orbiting a much younger version of our Sun called TOI 451. The system resides in the recently discovered Pisces-Eridanus stream, a collection of stars less than 3% the age of our solar system that stretches across one-third of the sky.The planets were discovered in TESS images taken between October and December 2018. Follow-up studies of TOI 451 and its planets included observations made in 2019 and 2020 using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which has since been retired, as well as many ground-based facilities. Archival infrared data from NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) satellite – collected between 2009 and 2011 under its previous moniker, WISE – suggests the system retains a cool disk of dust and rocky debris. Other observations show that TOI 451 likely has two distant stellar companions circling each other far beyond the planets.The young star TOI 451, better known to astronomers as CD-38 1467, lies about 400 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. It has 95% of our Sun’s mass, but it is 12% smaller, slightly cooler, and emits 35% less energy. TOI 451 rotates every 5.1 days, which is more than five times faster than the Sun.Even TOI 451’s most distant planet orbits three times closer than Mercury ever approaches to the Sun, so all of these worlds are quite hot and inhospitable to life as we know it. Temperature estimates range from about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200 degrees Celsius) for the innermost planet to about 840 F (450 C) for the outermost one. TOI 451 b orbits every 1.9 days, is about 1.9 times Earth’s size, and its estimated mass ranges from two to 12 times Earth’s. The next planet out, TOI 451 c, completes an orbit every 9.2 days, is about three times larger than Earth, and holds between three and 16 times Earth’s mass. The farthest and largest world, TOI 451 d, circles the star every 16 days, is four times the size of our planet, and weighs between four and 19 Earth masses.Astronomers expect planets as big as these to retain much of their atmospheres despite the intense heat from their nearby star. Different theories of how atmospheres evolve by the time a planetary system reaches TOI 451’s age predict a wide range of properties. Observing starlight passing through the atmospheres of these planets provides an opportunity to study this phase of development and could aid in constraining current models.Stellar streams form when the gravity of our Milky Way galaxy tears apart star clusters or dwarf galaxies. The individual stars move out along the cluster’s original orbit, forming an elongated group that gradually disperses.In 2019, a team led by Stefan Meingast at the University of Vienna used data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission to discover the Pisces-Eridanus stream, named for the constellations containing the greatest concentrations of stars. Stretching across 14 constellations, the stream is about 1,300 light-years long. However, the age initially determined for the stream was much older than we now think.Later in 2019, researchers led by Jason Curtis at Columbia University in New York City analyzed TESS data for dozens of stream members. Younger stars spin faster than their older counterparts do, and they also tend to have prominent starspots – darker, cooler regions like sunspots. As these spots rotate in and out of our view, they can produce slight variations in a star’s brightness that TESS can measure.The TESS measurements revealed overwhelming evidence of starspots and rapid rotation among the stream’s stars. Based on this result, Curtis and his colleagues found that the stream was only 120 million years old – similar to the famous Pleiades cluster and eight times younger than previous estimates. The mass, youth, and proximity of the Pisces-Eridanus stream make it an exciting fundamental laboratory for studying star and planet formation and evolution. ||

This plot combines the TESS northern and southern mosaics to show the extent of its primary mission survey. The yearlong southern panorama (bottom) was completed in July 2019, and the northern imaging was completed in July 2020. The prominent glowing band is the Milky Way, our galaxy seen edgewise. The ecliptic – the plane of Earth's orbit and the apparent yearly path of the Sun through the stars – runs straight across the middle of the map. Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (USRA) ||

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) spent nearly a year imaging the northern sky in its search for worlds beyond our solar system. Explore this panorama to see what TESS has found so far.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: "Strolling" from Above and Below. Written and produced by Lars LeonhardWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Familiar stars shine, nebulae glow, and nearby galaxies tantalize in a new panorama of the northern sky assembled from 208 images from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Within this starry scene, TESS has discovered several new exoplanets, and more than 600 candidates awaiting confirmation.The northern mosaic covers less of the sky than its southern counterpart, which was imaged during the mission’s first year of operations. For about half of the northern sectors, the team decided to angle the cameras further north to minimize the impact of scattered light from Earth and the Moon. This results in an obvious gap along the mosaic’s outer edge. TESS has now begun its extended mission, during which it will spend another year imaging the southern sky. The satellite will revisit planets discovered in its first year, discover new worlds, and fill in coverage gaps from its initial survey. Improvements to the satellite’s data collection and processing now allow TESS to return full sector images every 10 minutes and measure the brightness of thousands of stars every 20 seconds – all while continuing its previous strategy of measuring the brightness of tens of thousands of stars every two minutes. ||

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) spent a year imaging the southern sky in its search for worlds beyond our solar system. Dive into a mosaic of these images to see what TESS has found so far. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: “Phenomenon" from Above and Below Written and produced by Lars LeonhardWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || The glow of the Milky Way — our galaxy seen edgewise — arcs across a sea of stars in a new mosaic of the southern sky produced from a year of observations by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Constructed from 208 TESS images taken during the mission’s first year of science operations, completed on July 18, the southern panorama reveals both the beauty of the cosmic landscape and the reach of TESS's cameras.Within this scene, TESS has discovered 29 exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system, and more than 1,000 candidate planets astronomers are now investigating. TESS divided the southern sky into 13 sectors and imaged each one of them for nearly a month using four cameras, which carry a total of 16 charge-coupled devices (CCDs). Remarkably, the TESS cameras capture a full sector of the sky every 30 minutes as part of its search for exoplanet transits. Transits occur when a planet passes in front of its host star from our perspective, briefly and regularly dimming its light. During the satellite’s first year of operations, each of its CCDs captured 15,347 30-minute science images. These images are just a part of more than 20 terabytes of southern sky data TESS has returned, comparable to streaming nearly 6,000 high-definition movies.In addition to its planet discoveries, TESS has imaged a comet in our solar system, followed the progress of numerous stellar explosions called supernovae, and even caught the flare from a star ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. After completing its southern survey, TESS turned north to begin a year-long study of the northern sky. ||

Sector 1.The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observed this strip of stars and galaxies in the southern sky from July 25, 2018, to August 22, 2018. TESS captured this individual image during one 30-minute period on 2018-08-07 at 04:59:42 UTC. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds appear on the right-hand side. || NASA’s newest planet hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is now providing valuable data to help scientists discover and study exciting new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. Part of the treasure trove from TESS’s first year of science operations includes wide-field pictures of the southern sky. The images show each of the 13 southern sky sectors TESS monitored.TESS acquired the images using four cameras; black lines in the images are gaps between camera detectors. Some stars are so bright they saturate an entire column of pixels on the detectors, creating long spikes of light.TESS’s cameras, designed and built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory and the MIT Kavli Institute, monitor enormous 24-by-96-degree swaths of the sky to look for transiting planets. These events occur when a planet passes in front of its star as viewed from the satellite’s perspective, causing a regular dip in the star’s brightness.After two years, TESS will have monitored 26 sectors for 27 days each, covering 85 percent of the sky. On July 18, 2019, TESS completed monitoring the last of its 13 southern sectors, then turned its cameras to the north to carry out a second year-long survey. ||

This infographic illustrates key features of the TOI 270 system, located about 73 light-years away in the southern constellation Pictor. The three known planets were discovered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite through periodic dips in starlight caused by each orbiting world. Insets show information about the planets, including their relative sizes, and how they compare to Earth. Temperatures given for TOI 270’s planets are equilibrium temperatures, calculated without the warming effects of any possible atmospheres. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Wiessinger ||

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) took this snapshot of the Large Magellanic Cloud (right) and the bright star R Doradus (left) with just a single detector of one of its cameras on Tuesday, Aug. 7. The frame is part of a swath of the southern sky TESS captured in its “first light” science image as part of its initial round of data collection.Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS || NASA’s newest planet hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), is now providing valuable data to help scientists discover and study exciting new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. Part of the data from TESS’s initial science orbit includes a detailed picture of the southern sky taken with all four of the spacecraft’s wide-field cameras. This “first light” science image captures a wealth of stars and other objects, including systems previously known to have exoplanets.TESS acquired the image using all four cameras during a 30-minute period on Tuesday, Aug. 7. The black lines in the image are gaps between the camera detectors. The small bright dot above the Small Magellanic Cloud is a globular cluster — a spherical collection of hundreds of thousands of stars — called NGC 104, also known as 47 Tucanae because of its location in the southern constellation Tucana, the Toucan. Two stars, Beta Gruis and R Doradus, are so bright they saturate an entire column of pixels on the detectors of TESS’s second and fourth cameras, creating long spikes of light.TESS’s cameras, designed and built by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, and the MIT Kavli Institute, monitor large swaths of the sky to look for transits. Transits occur when a planet passes in front of its star as viewed from the satellite’s perspective, causing a regular dip in the star’s brightness.TESS will spend two years monitoring 26 such sectors for 27 days each, covering 85 percent of the sky. During its first year of operations, the satellite will study the 13 sectors making up the southern sky. Then TESS will turn to the 13 sectors of the northern sky to carry out a second year-long survey. ||

Artist concept of TESS observing an M dwarf star with orbiting planets(with haze). || Artist concept images of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. || Artist concept of TESS observing an M dwarf star with orbiting planets (without haze). || Artist concept of TESS spacecraft. || Artist concept of TESS in front of a lava planet orbiting its host star. || For More Information || See [tess.gsfc.nasa.gov](tess.gsfc.nasa.gov) ||

The fully integrated Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which launched in 2018 to find thousands of new planets orbiting other stars. || The fully integrated Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which launched in 2018 to find thousands of new planets orbiting other stars. || The fully integrated Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which launched in 2018 to find thousands of new planets orbiting other stars. ||

B-roll and canned interviews to be added by 7:00 p.m. EDT July 24 || NASA’s Planet Hunter Reveals Exciting Discoveries in the Search for Strange New Worlds Look Up! Planets Orbit All The Stars You Can See In The Night Sky In its first year in orbit, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, scanned the skies in the southern hemisphere, where it discovered a variety of strange worlds. Next week, TESS will be unveiling some of its newest and most exciting discoveries about the planets orbiting the stars closest to us.Join NASA scientists on Thursday, August 1 from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT to find out what TESS has discovered so far and how it is contributing to NASA’s search for life. Learn more about what scientists hope to find next, and how your viewers can join scientists and help NASA spot these distant worlds.It wasn’t that long ago that scientists weren’t sure if there were planets orbiting other stars, just as Earth orbits the Sun. With help from telescopes both in space and on the ground, we now know that our galaxy is teeming with exoplanets, or planets that lie beyond our solar system. In fact, when you look up at the night sky, consider that just about every star you see might have at least one planet orbiting it...maybe many more.NASA is diving deeper into the search for planets orbiting nearby stars with TESS and now as it enters year two, it will turn its gaze to the northern hemisphere, hunting for planets that orbit some of the stars we see each night with the naked eye.*** To schedule an interview, fill out this form: https://forms.gle/Ln2PY6mCQ4sVmGxv9 ***The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be hosting the first science conference for TESS results the week of July 29th. Scientists will be available for in-person interviews Wednesday, July 31st from 2:00-4:00 and 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET. For more information click here: https://tsc.mit.edu/outreach.html. To RSVP email: Natalia Guerrero at nmg @mit.edu.suggested questions1)TESS has spent its first year scanning the skies for strange new worlds. What fascinating things did it discover? 2)How does TESS look for planets around other stars? 3)What are you excited for TESS to find as it turns to our local skies? 4)Traveling to even the closest stars would still take hundreds of thousands of years with our current technology. How are these distant planets relevant to us? 5)NASA is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, with future plans to take astronauts to the Moon and then to Mars. What will studying the Moon and Mars up close tell us about planets around other stars? 6)How can our viewers learn more about this mission and get involved in looking for exoplanets?satellite coordinates HD Satellite Coordinates for G17-K18/Lower: Galaxy 17 Ku-band Xp 18 Slot Lower| 91.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12051.0 MHz | Vertical Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio Embedded*** Questions? Contact Courtney.a.lee@nasa.gov or 301-286-3131.***Keep up to date on the latest with TESS on Twitter @NASA_TESS! ||

B-Roll for TESS Live Shot || NASA Preparing to Launch New Planet Hunting Mission Next Week Mission Expected to Discover Thousands of New Worlds Orbiting Nearby Stars NASA Scientists Available to Speak On the Hunt For New WorldsThe hunt is on to discover new and exciting worlds! NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite – TESS – is scheduled to launch April 16 to find thousands of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. In the past ten years, NASA has discovered and studied thousands of these planets – including the TRAPPIST-1 system, which could have the ingredients to support life. TESS is expected to add thousands more planets to this growing list during its two-year mission, looking at the nearest and brightest stars in our galaxy to see if there are worlds hiding in their light. From molten lava and frigid icy planets, to bizarre places that rain rubies and sapphires and water-covered worlds, the possibilities of new worlds for the planet-hunter to find are limitless. Are Earth and the other planets in our solar system unique? Join NASA scientists from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 10 – days before the launch – as they share some of the exciting discoveries they hope to find with the TESS mission. TESS will find promising planets that other NASA telescopes – like the Hubble Space Telescope and future James Webb Space Telescope – could look at in more detail to determine what their atmospheres are made of, and whether these unknown worlds could potentially support life.Suggested Questions:1. What is an exoplanet and why are scientists excited about them?2. How will this new mission help NASA in the search for life?3. Will this planet-hunter change the way we look at the stars in the night sky?4. Previous telescopes have found really unusual worlds. What kinds of planets are you looking forward to TESS discovering?5. Where can we learn more?Questions for longer interviews:1. Where will TESS orbit?2. What has been the biggest surprise in searching for exoplanets?3. How will TESS detect planets?4. What makes TESS different than other planet hunter missions?5. What does it look like when a planet crosses in front of the parent star?Live Shot Details:Location: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Greenbelt, MarylandScientists:Dr. Paul Hertz / NASA Director of Astrophysics—or—Dr. Joshua Schlieder / NASA Scientist—or—Dr. Jennifer Burt / MIT Torres postdoctoral fellow—or—Natalia Guerrero / MIT Kavli TESS Objects of Interest Deputy Manager [ en Español ]z ||

B-roll and canned interviews will be added Thursday 2/23 in the morning. Click for more about the news conference on Feb. 22nd. || NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water. You can find graphics HERE that go with this story.The discovery sets a new record for greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system. All of these seven planets could have liquid water–key to life as we know it–under the right atmospheric conditions, but the chances are highest with the three in the habitable zone.Scientists are available for live TV or radio interviews on Thursday, Feb. 23, from 6:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST to share these exciting results with your morning viewers, and talk about how NASA is exploring these strange new worlds. We will also give you a sneak peek into upcoming NASA missions that will further the search for life in the universe.HD Satellite Coordinates for G17-K18Upper: Galaxy 17 Ku-band Xp 18 Slot Upper| 91.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12069.0 MHz | Vertical Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio Embedded **** To book a window contact ****Michelle Handleman/ michelle.z.handleman@nasa.gov/ 301-286-0918Live Shot Details: Location: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Greenbelt, MarylandScientists:Dr. Paul Hertz / Director, Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Headquarters WashingtonDr. Padi Boyd / Chief , Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics LaboratoryDr. Nikole Lewis / Astronomer, Space Telescope Science InstituteDr. Hannah Wakeford / NASA Scientist ||

NASA will broadcast a stunning view of Mercury on May 9 as it journeys across the sun. The event, known as a transit, occurs when Mercury passes directly between Earth and the sun. This rare phenomenon will cause Mercury to look like a black dot gliding across the sun’s face. Mercury’s last transit was in 2006, and it won’t happen again until 2019!Starting at 7:12 a.m. EDT, Mercury will spend more than seven hours travelling across the sun. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory will take the first near real time, ultra-high definition images ever for this event. This is also an opportunity for NASA scientists to fine tune the spacecraft’s cameras, using a method that can only be done during a transit. NASA scientists are available Monday, May 9 from 6:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EDT to show your viewers amazing images of this event as it unfolds. Scientists will also share why transits are important, and how they’re being used to learn more about planets in our solar system—and beyond. Scientists have been using transits for hundreds of years to study the planets in our solar system. When a planet crosses in front of the sun, it causes the sun’s brightness to dim. Scientists can measure similar brightness dips from other stars to find planets orbiting them, and can calculate their sizes, how far away the planets are from their stars, and even get hints of what they’re made of. Upcoming NASA missions will watch for transits outside our solar system in order to find new planets, including some that could resemble Earth.****To book a window***Contact Claire Saravia – claire.g.desaravia@nasa.govSuggested questions: 1.Mercury is trekking across the sun today for the first time in 10 years. How can we see this transit?2.Why are transits so important to astronomers? 3.Why does NASA watch the sun?4.NASA is using the transit method to study planets beyond our solar system. What do we expect to learn from future missions doing this? 5.Where can we learn more? HD Satellite Coordinates for AMC9-K17: AMC-9 Ku-band Xp 17 Slot AB| 83.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12045.8 MHz | Horizontal Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio EmbeddedMercury Transit Gallery Page ||

B-roll that corresponds with the following suggested questions: 1. What is an equinox?2. There is an exciting event happening this year: a total solar eclipse! When is this happening?3. NASA will be doing some pretty cool science during the eclipse. How is NASA using the eclipse to studythe sun and Earth?4. How do eclipses help us find planets orbiting other stars?5. Where can we learn more?NASA Satellites Ready When Stars and Planets Align. || March 20 Equinox Marks the Start of Spring in the Northern HemisphereDance of the Solar System is the First Solar Event of 2017Stay Tuned for the Big Event of 2017, the August Solar Eclipse!It may not feel like it this week in parts of the country, but spring begins in just a few days. March 20 kicks off the first day of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere. On March 20, the day of the spring Equinox, the sun will pass directly over the Earth’s equator, giving the entire planet equal hours of day and night. This is the seasonal marker in Earth’s orbit around the sun when daylight hours begin to get longer than night. This dance of the solar system is just one celestial event we’ll see this year. On August 21 all 50 states in the U.S. will be in prime position to see a partial or even a total solar eclipse, which happens when the moon is in perfect position to blot out the sun’s bright disk. The last time the U.S. saw a coast-to-coast solar eclipse was in 1918! The path of totality runs from Oregon to South Carolina.NASA will lead an unprecedented science initiative during the eclipse that will draw on the collaboration of the public to help collect images, data and even temperature readings from across the nation during the hour-and-a-half it takes to cross the continent. NASA scientists are available on Monday, March 20 from 6:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EDT to help your viewers ring in the new season and talk about the big solar event this August.***To book a window contact***Michelle Handleman / michelle.z.handleman@nasa.gov/ 301-286-0918 HD Satellite Coordinates for G17-K18Upper: Galaxy 17 Ku-band Xp 18 Slot Upper| 91.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12069.0 MHz | Vertical Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio EmbeddedSuggested Questions:1.What is an equinox? 2.There is an exciting event happening this year: a total solar eclipse! When is this happening?3.NASA will be doing some pretty cool science during the eclipse. How is NASA using the eclipse to study the sun and Earth?4.How do eclipses help us find planets orbiting other stars? 5.Where can we learn more?Live Shot Details: Location: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Greenbelt, MarylandScientists:Dr. Alex Young/ NASA ScientistDr. Yari Collado-Vega / NASA Scientist [Interviews in Spanish]Dr. Nicholeen Viall / NASA Scientist Video: NASA will roll all insert videos during live interviews. If needed, stations can roll a clean feed of all video at 5:45 a.m. EDT on March 20, at the above listed satellite. ||

Complete transcript available. || On September 21, 2016, NASA scientists and stakeholders came together at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for a presentation on the agency’s search for life beyond Earth. “The Search for Life” featured presentations from some of NASA’s leading scientists, including the late former astronaut, Dr. Piers Sellers. Through compelling visualizations, “The Search for Life” takes you on a journey through the solar system and beyond, exploring the possibility of life existing on Mars, the solar system’s outer moons, and exoplanets. ||

Since the early 1990's, astronomers have known that extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets," orbit stars light-years beyond our own solar system. Although most exoplanets are too distant to be directly imaged, detailed studies have been made of their size, composition, and even atmospheric makeup - but how? By observing periodic variations in the parent star's brightness and color, astronomers can indirectly determine an exoplanet's distance from its star, its size, and its mass. But to truly understand an exoplanet astronomers must study its atmosphere, and they do so by splitting apart the parent star's light during a planetary transit. ||

NASA Goddard astrophysicist Daniel Angerhausen discusses how astronomers may be able to maximize transit photometry to find planets like those in our solar system around other stars -- and possibly moons, rings, and asteroid groups as well. Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. || Astronomers have used many different methods to discover planets beyond the solar system, but the most successful by far is transit photometry, which measures changes in a star's brightness caused by a mini-eclipse. When a planet crosses in front of its star along our line of sight, it blocks some of the star's light. If the dimming lasts for a set amount of time and occurs at regular intervals, it likely means an exoplanet is passing in front of, or transiting, the star once every orbital period. NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has used this technique to become the most successful planet-hunting spacecraft to date, with more than a thousand established discoveries and many more awaiting confirmation. Missions carrying improved technology are now planned, but how much more can they tell us about alien planetary systems similar to our own? A great deal, according to recently published studies by Michael Hippke at the Institute for Data Analysis in Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany, and Daniel Angerhausen, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. They show that in the best-case scenarios upcoming missions could uncover planetary moons, ringed worlds similar to Saturn, and even large collections of asteroids. ||

Join the search for new worlds in the outer reaches of our solar system and in nearby interstellar space at Backyard Worlds: Planet 9. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab/Krystofer D.J. KimMusic: "Novelty Act" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || A new website funded by NASA lets the public search for new worlds in the outer reaches of our solar system and in neighboring interstellar space. The website, called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, allows everyone to participate in the search though brief movies made from images captured by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. The movies highlight sources that have gradually moved across the sky. The new website uses WISE all-sky data to search for unknown objects in and beyond our own solar system. In 2016, astronomers at the California Institute of Technology showed that several distant solar system objects possessed orbital features indicating they were affected by the gravity of an as-yet-undetected planet, which the researchers nicknamed "Planet Nine." If Planet Nine exists and is as bright as some predictions, it could show up in WISE data. The search also may discover more distant objects like brown dwarfs, sometimes called failed stars, in nearby interstellar space. These strange objects form like stars but evolve like planets, the coldest ones being much like Jupiter.On the website, people around the world can work their way through millions of "flipbooks," which are brief animations showing how small patches of the sky changed over several years. Moving objects flagged by users will be prioritized by the science team for later follow-up observations by professional astronomers. Participants will share credit for their discoveries in any scientific publications that result from the project. ||

Mercury transiting the Sun || This animation shows the May 9, 2016 transit of Mercury across the face of the Sun. ||